Electrical problems in cars are created by some faulty electric components and may cause the car to fail to start. When this happens, most of the people assume that the problem is originating from the battery. Sometimes this is usually the issue but a bad battery is caused by a few other things. Further, there is a need for you to know how you should resolve the electrical problems in a car.
What causes a car battery to die.
Let’s take this “car battery” situation one step at a time. Starting from the moment you purchase the battery to the moment it starts showing problems. Firstly, there are a few important issues you need to consider when purchasing a new battery. For example the battery’s expiry date.
1. Battery has expired.
An old battery is one of the reasons why the car doesn’t start. Additionally, it is one of the most common causes of electrical problems within the car. Car batteries are capable of lasting up to 5 years and some even last longer.
2. Battery terminals are corroded.
This happens whereby the car battery has been used for quite sometime. At some point in time, the battery acid usually comes in contact with the terminals. If this happens on a regular basis, there will be an accumulation of corrosion around the terminals. This will cause the battery not to conduct electric current and receive charge as it should and you may assume the battery is actually dead. Clean the terminals thoroughly to improve current flow.
3. Bad alternator.
A bad alternator is incapable of charging the car battery. Hence causing it to die. When the engine is being started, the car battery is in use to supply electric current to the spark plug. Afterwards the spark plug ignites the fuel and air mixture within the combustion chamber to start the engine. Most of the times, alternators tend to be faulty by sagging or by being worn out.
Sometimes it’s hard to identify the reason that is causing an electric failure. If you’re suspecting that the battery is behind the electric failure, you need to conduct a few tests.
How to know if the car battery is dead.
The battery is responsible for providing electric current to the car’s components when the car engine is turned off. So there are a few things you can look at in order to know if the car’s battery is causing the electric issue.
- Turn on the headlights and see if they are as bright as normal. If the type of headlights that you’re using requires a lot of electric energy, they might appear so dim. Which could be a sign that something is wrong with the car battery.
- Turn on the windshield wipers and see if they’re moving at the same speed as they usually do.
BACK TO BUSINESS! Apart from the battery, there are other electric components that could lead to electrical problems in the car.
Causes of electrical problems in cars
Believe you me there is nothing that beats the situation where you’re counting on your car but it won’t serve you as you were expecting it to. To make matters worse you’re not aware of what is causing this issue. Above we have looked at electrical problems that are caused by a low or faulty battery. Well below we’re about to check out the common issues that arise from electric complications; In other words, what SIGNS WILL YOU OBSERVE;
1. Blown fuses.
This is one of the most common things you will see when you start experiencing car electrical problems. The fuse box is responsible for transferring electric current to different areas within the car. One of the reasons why the fuses blow is to cut circuit due to an over flow of electric volts. If you observe that one or more fuses have blown there is an electric issue with your car.
2. Burning plastic smell.
You smell this based on the fact that electric current is burning the coting on wires. Wires are responsible for transferring electric current from the source to the electronic components of the car. If the current is too much, it starts melting the coating on the wires.
3. Dim headlights.
Above we saw that this is a problem that can be associated with a bad battery. You may conduct a headlight test to check whether your headlights are dim due to electrical problems. Otherwise you could assume that this is a problem being caused by the headlights bulbs. To confirm that it is not the car’s electrical setup just try to check whether the other electric components are working.
4. Engine refuses to crank.
This can be brought about by a bad spark plug, battery or a damaged ignition cylinder. In the case that the engine will be giving a clicking sound without cranking loudly, the problem is a spark plug. But if the cranking sound is loud but the engine doesn’t start, the issue is the battery. Investigate the problem depending on the sound that you observe.